Isabelle Turns 7

The birthday girl
Mackenzie loved the party. Her and the Build-A-Bear lady hit it off.

The studs of the party, Joseph and Eli. They were much more tolerant of Build-A-Bear than the other males.

Eli and Tom

Briley and Issie

Isabelle had a great birthday! She took 13 of her favorite friends, sister, brother, and cousins to Build-A-Bear. Brian and I are exhausted now but it was a fun day. We couldn't have made it without the grandmas, aunts, Uncle Brad, and Harli's moms help.

After Build-A-Bear, they rode the merry go round, and then had cupcakes and ice cream in the food court. The kids were all so good and we made it back to Carmi with all of them safe and sound.

The cupcakes for school tomorrow are iced and I am headed to bed! More birthday pictures later.

AnnaMaria's Second Birthday Party

Birthday Fun

Eli loved his new shoes
Joseph & AnnaMaria

Issie and Lily

Mackenzie

Eli takes Joseph for a spin.

Turning Two

Eli had a blast at his 2nd birthday party. He knew it was his special day and enjoyed every minute of it. Aiden loved the old John Deere tractor.

Abbie - Character Award Winner

Abbie and one other student in her class were selected by their teacher to be the Character Award winner for the first nine weeks. We were very proud of her.

Labor Day

We went camping for Labor Day weekend and the highlight was visiting a dairy farm.

The cows were so well trained.

First Day of School

Bear

The lastnight we were in Las Vegas we stopped by Circus Circus to watch the ongoing circus acts. Micky Mouse & Disneyland didn't really excite Eli but he loved the circus! It brings tears to my eyes to think what he might have missed out in life. We are so blessed to have him in our life. It is hard to believe he has only been in our home since February 1st. It seems like much longer and we already have so many great memories.

It was good to get back home and everyone was excited that the watermellons were ready. This one was about as big as Eli. He loves to eat them as much as Abbie and Issie.

Las Vegas

Chillin'

Stick up your dukes!
Grand Canyon - we opted for the aerial view after hearing 12 people are killed a year by falling off. Busy Eli is hard to contain.

Fun in the Sun

Eli models the princess hat Isabelle got at Disneyland.

We enjoyed fondue!

The kids enjoyed the pool.

White cubs at the Mirage.

Beach Bums

Eli meets some of his extended family. We had a great time with Judeen and Casandra's family.




















Chick Magnet!!















After a hard day at the beach!















Isabelle and Judeen enjoy artichoke heart!














Samantha, Abbie, and Casandra. We enjoyed lunch at Ruby's on the pier, fun in the sun at the beach, and then dinner at Casandra's. The kids really enjoyed playing.

Coronado Island & Anaheim

We drove over to Coronado Island and loved it. It would be a great vacation spot. This is where the navy seals train so Brian enjoyed seeing their base. This was the kids first time to the Pacific.















We had a fun time at "Bubba Gumps".















Abbie was excited about the swans on our beds.

San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park

Am I a stud or what?






























The view was amazing.

Visiting John Schettler and Family

Eli took right up with John.















Diane raises turkeys behind John's house. The kids enjoyed petting them. The "tom" was really pretty. They got started raising turkeys when Diane's son was in FFA.






























Barbara and Diane shoot competition archery. Brian and I gave it a shot.














The Schettler's and Bryant's. We really enjoyed getting to meet some of Brian's extended family. John has been very good to us since Eli joined our family so we were glad we got to visit.